Self-cleaner for cards



Jan. 7, 1930.

P H. WALSH SELF CLEANER FOR CARDS' Filed Oct. 11, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l MN MW Iwvenfor attorney Jan. 7, 1930. P. H. WALSH SELF CLEANER FOR CARDS Filed Oct. ll, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 7706711277 x; In WZW776LZJ of foreign substances.

Patented Jan. 7, 19 30 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PATRICK H. WALSH, 0F WESTEBLY, RHODE ISLAND, AS SIGNOR TO CAIRO CLOTH- COR- PORATION, OF CAROLINA, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE v SELF-CLEANER FOR CARDS Application.- filed October 11, 1928.

My present invention relates to textile machinery, and more particularly to an improved cleaning device for carding rolls and the like. f

In the use of carding machinery, considerable difiiculty has heretofore been expericnccd in maintaining the carding rolls free Heretofore, it has been practically impossible to maintain the carding rolls in clean condition and it has been necessary to periodically dismantle the machine by taking ofl the working and other rolls and clean the card clothing thereon manually, which is a slow and very expensive process. The. applicant in his development of improved apparatus for and processes of manufacturing textile fabrics has utilized carding machines as an integral part of his device for practicing a continual {Process of manufacturing textile fabrics by anentirely new process. Difiiculty was experienced,as

is usual, in maintaining the carding rolls clear of foreign substances and when it be came necessary to clean the rolls manually by dismantling the carding machines, necessa rily the entire process devised by the inventor, became for the moment inoperative, it thus being necessary to shut down the entire mill until such time as the carding machines could be placed back in operation again.

With a view to obviating the objections above noted and to devise a cleaning device which would be automatic in its operation, and thus enable the carding machine to operate continuously and continually in carrying out applicants improved process, there was devised the subject matter of the present invention. As is well known, carding rolls may be built in a pluralitypf ways, one of which, the most advantageous for the type of carding machine employed by the applicant, is to wrap about a cylinder in a helical form a ribbon of metal or other suitable material,

provided on one edge with a series of teeth.

The teeth taper in thickness from the full width of the ribbon of metal down to a point and when the ribbon is wound in a helical manner on the cylinder, there is necessarily formed a helical groove extending through- Serial No. 311,865.

out the entire length of the cylinder. It is in i this helical groove that the foreign substance collects and gradually'builds up until the teeth of the card clothing no longer have the efiiciency necessary. In order to provide a cleaner which-will be self-actuating, I have provided a shaft arranged parallel to the shaft of the carding roll with which the same is to be associated and on such shaft I arrange a freely movable member provided with a downwardly depending tooth which fits into the helical groove formed by the ribbon of metal on the carding cylinder. lit was found that while such a construction enabled the tooth to follow along in the helical groove, yet it was subject to stick ing, and in order to overcome the same, I

found it advantageous to positively drive the shaft on which the cleaning 'device was located, even though such device. was freely movable on the shaft. The rotation of the shaft reduced the friction between the same and the cleaning'device to such an extent that it is now found that the cleaning device and the tooth attached thereto follows freely along the shaft as the carding roll rotates. I

ihe object of my invention, therefore, is

an improved cleaning device for carding inder 12 provided with the-ordinary card cl0thing18. Associated with the work cylinder 12 area plurality of work rolls 14 as ,is usual. Also associated with the work roll 12 is a breaker roll 15 rotatably mounted on a shaft 16 arranged parallel tothe shaft 11. The breaker roll 15 is provided with a card clothing 17 and I have shown my inyention in association with such card clothmg.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the cylinder 15 has Wrapped thereon the card clothing '17, such card clothing comprising a ribbon of indeterminate length, provided with teeth on one edge and arranged in a helical manner on the cylinder 15. .As the cylinder 15 rotates it is obvious that if a pointed tooth is placed in the space between adjacent J turns of the ribbon forming the card clothin 17 and the cylinder 15 rotated, that such toot will dig out ofthe groove any foreign substance that may be lodged therein. In order to provide that this operation may be performedmechanically, I provide on the framework of the carding'machine auxiliary frames 18 in which is rotatably mounted a shaft 19 arranged parallel to the shaft 16. I have also seouredto the shaft 16 a gear 20 which meshes with and drives a gear 21se-,/ cured to the shaft 19. The gears 20 and 21 are so arranged that the speed of rotation of 20 the shaft 19 is slightly greater than the speed of rotation of the shaft 16, although the device will work well regardless of the ratio of speed between such shafts 16 and'19. Rotata ly and 'slidably mounted on the shaft 19 is a member 22 provided on one'side with a counter-balancing weight 23, which weight will always tend to remain under or below the shaft 19, and secured to such overbalancing weight 23 is a cleaning pin or tooth 24, preferably of spring steel or equivalent substance,

and pointed at its end so as to enter the heliform, of a cleaning device engaging there-, with, a support on which said cleaning device is rotatably mounted to permit movement of the cleaning device thereon on rotation of the breaker roll. I

e 2. In a 'device for automatically cleaning card clothing arranged in helical formon a cylinder, thecombination of a shaft, means for rotating said shaft simultaneously, with the rotation of the carding cylinder, 'a-tool holder rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft, and a cleaning tooth on said member engaging in a helical groove in the card clothingwc 3. In a device for automatically cleaning card clothing, of a carding cylinder comprising a shaft, means for rotating the same simultaneously with the rotationof the carding cylinder, a member freely movable on said shaft, a counter-balancing weight arranged at one side thereof, a cleaning tooth of spring material associated with said counterweight, and extending into the helical groove formed by the card clothing, whereby the supporting member will be freely movable along the 90 shaft on which it is mounted. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

' PATRICK H. WALSH.

cal grooves between the adjacent turns of the ribbon forming the card clothing 17.

Assuming that the breaker roll 15 is rotat-* 35 ing in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, and, therefore, the shaft 19 to be rotating in the direction of the arrow shown, and that the cleaning tooth 21 has been placed in a groove between adjacent turns of the ribbon 0 forming the card clothing 17, then it is obvious that as the cylinder 15 rotates, the tooth 24 will move from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 2, and that the cleaning tooth 24 always remaining in the helical groove, such groove 45 will have removed therefrom any foreign substance that may have collected therein. When the cleaning tooth 24 has reached the righthand end of the cylinder 15, as viewed in Fig. 2, the operator may lift the tooth up- 50 ward so as to clear the clothing 17 and slide the member 22 to the left again, as viewed in Fig. 2, and start the device in operation again. It is obvious, of course, that the operation of the tooth 24, as concerns its return to initial I 5 operating position, maybe performed auto-' matically but as,on the usual card it is a a matter of several hours before the tooth 24 will traverse the length of the cylinder 15, it has not been thought necessary to show such 0 automatic structure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

' 1. in a device of the kind described, the comblnation with a breaker roll provided 65 with clothing thereon arranged in helical 

